French-binding-folding machine



July 8 1924. 1,500,215

S. WILLIS FRENCH BINDING FOLDING MACHINE inal Filed Sept. 26 1921 Patented July 8, 1924.

UNIT D STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

snnnmnn WILLIS, or ronrsmoorri, OHIO, Assienoit, BY mnsn'n ASSIGNMENTS, TO M r. R. GLASS COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A conromr on on MASSA- cnftrsn'mrs.

FBENGH-BTNDING-FOLDING MACHINE.

Application filed September 26, 1921 Serial No. 503,282. Renewed December, 8, 1923.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SHERMAN-WILLIS, .a citizen of the United States, residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in French-Binding-Folding Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,.like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to folding machines and is herein illustratedas embodied in a machine for producing a so-called'French ed e.

It is customary in the manufacture of certain styles of boots and shoes to bind the edges of parts of the uppers with a strip of fabric. To this end such a strip is stitched to the edge of the vamp, quarter or other piece of sheet material which is to be bound, cement is applied to the-strip, and then the free portion of the binding is drawn or folded about the attached portion and about the edge of the sheet material and pressed down upon the margin of the sheet material so that the cement may hold it firmly in place. The general object of the presentinvention is to provide novel and improved means for performing this and similar folding and pressing operations.

According to one feature of the invention there is provided a support for a piece of work, which consists of a piece of sheet material to which a strip of binding is attached. an upwardly extending plow or folder for bending the free portion of the binding upwardly, and a presser foot directed toward the junction of the work support and the plow. The work engaged in this manner is fed over thesupport and pastthe plow, means being provided for pressing'the upwardly bent portion of the binding over upon the upper margin of the sheet material.

At the locality in which the binding is wrapped about that portion ofitself which is attached to the sheet material a projection or ridge is formed; and accordingto another feature of the invention a groove is provided at the junction of. the plow and the work support to receive this ridge.

These and other'features of the invention,"

including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will described as embodied in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to *the accompanying draw- Fig. 1 is a perspective of a portion-of the machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a perspective similar to Fig. 1 but showing in addition a piece of work in proc- Fig. 8 is a cross section of the same. piece after it has been operated upon, both Figs. 7

and 8 being on a somewhat exaggerated scale.

Referring first to Figs. 7 and '8, there is indicated at 100 a piece of leather and at 200 a strip of binding such as'fabrio which is attached to the leather near one edge of the leather and the binding by stitches 300. Before the plece of work is subjected to the folding operation the under side of the bindperspective of the plow and in elevation of the plow and presser ing is coated with an adhesive substance which is allowed to stand long enough to become tacky. 'The operator'then runs his finger under the leading end of the free portion of the binding so as to straighten that free portion more or less and bring it into substantially parallel relation with the plane I of the sheet material or leather 100. The work is then fed to the'machi'ne which draws thefree portion of the binding about that portion of itself which is attached to the 5' leather and presses it over: upon themargin of the. sheet material sothat the finished The illustrated machine is similar in many respects to that shown in the patent to Glass No. 1,281,555. It comprises a work four-motion feed movement. In order'that the leading edge of the work maybe engaged and bent over the hammer carries a finger 15, which extends toward the on-coming work. Besides acting to feed the work, the hammer and anvil also act to press the upwardly bent portion of the binding strip over upon the margin of the leather. The mechanism for operating the hammer and anvil is or may be substantially the same as that shown in the Glass patent to which reference is made for a detailed description.

Mounted upon the table 9 in front of the hammer, that is on the side toward the operator of the machine, is a combined edge gage and plow 17. In the illustrated machine this plow is integral with a base 19 which is adjustably fastened to the table by means of a screw 21 which passes through a. slot in the base and is threaded into the table. This construction is merely to provide for ready removal and replace ment of the plow. Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that a portion of this base 19 has a surfac which registers with the upper surface of the table 9 and that consequently this particular portion of the base 19 is really a partof the work support. In that portion of the base 19 which is really part of the work support there is formed a groove 23 the purpose ofwhich is to receive the ridge or thickened portion of the work which results from wrapping the free portion of the binding about that portion which is attached to the leather. The plow 17 has upstanding ears which support a pivot 25; and guided between these cars and mounted upon the pivot is the stem of a combined presser foot and creaser 27. The operative end of the presser foot extends diagonally toward the groove 23 which is located at the junction of a work support and the plow. Because of its shape and mounting the presser foot engages the extreme margin of the leather so as to hold the ridge in the groove. As the work is fed forward it is thus caused to move in a path which maintains it in correct relation to the plow, the upturned portion of the binding being guided in the space between the presser foot and the plow. A coiled spring 29, the upper end of which receives a pin on the stem of the presser foot and the lower end of which receives a pin on the plow, urges the operative end of the presser foot diagonally downward so as to act upon the work in the manner which has been described above and is clearly shown in Fig. 3. In order to permit the presser foot to be raised when desired, the outer end of its stem is provided with a flattened handle 31.

In the operation of the machine. after the binding strip 200 has been wiped out, either by machine or manually, or at least its leading end wiped out the work is presented to the present machine. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the combined. presser foot and creaser 27 engages the work in the manner shown and at the same time holds the ridge atthe edge of thework in the groove 23, the binding being bent upwardly by the plow. As the work is fed forward progressively, the upwardly bent bindin is engaged by the hammer 11 and pressed over upon the margin of the sheet material. A modification is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In these figures the feeding and pressing means is 'not shown since they are or may be the same asthose described in connection with Figs. 1 to 1. In this modification the plow 117 is integralv with a base 119 and is mounted in a table 109 by means of a screw 121 in the same manner that the base 19 of Fig. 1 is mount-ed. In this modified form the groove 123 to receive the ridge at the edge of the work is formed in the plOW 117 instead of in the table. The plow is of slightly different shape than the plow shown in Fig. 1 but it acts similarly to bend the free portion of the binding upwardly. The combined presser foot and creaser 127 is slightly different in shape from the one first described but its operative end, like that of the one first described, engages the sheet material near its edgeto hold the sheet material from rising, and also permits the upwardly bent binding to pass between it and the face of the plow. The plow 117 has upstanding ears to form a guideway for the stem of the presser foot but in this case the ears carry no pivot.

Instead the stem of the presser foot is pivoted at 125 to a fixed portion 37 of the machine which may be part of the overhanging arm shown in the patent to Glass which has been referred to. The stem of the presser foot is provided at. its outer end with a fiat handle 131; and the operative end of the presser foot is urged downwardly toward the groove 123 at the junction of the work support and the plow by a coiled spring (not shown) which is wound about th pivot 125 and is fast at one end to the stem of the presser foot and at the other end to the overhanging arm 37.

For convenience the invention has been described in connection with the folding of a piece of work in which av ridge is formed by the bending of the free portion of a binding strip over that portion thereof which is attached to the leather or other sheet material. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to use with the particular kind of work which has been shown and described and is applicable for example to the folding of any kind of work which has a similar ridge.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a machine of the type disclosed in the patent to Glass in which the feed members act also as-binding pressing members, it should be understood thatv the invention is not limited in the scope of its' application to any particular type of folding machine.

Having thus" described my invention, what I claim as new and desir to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists of a piece of sheet material to which a I strip of binding is attached having, in combination, a stationary member having a substantially flat surface for'supporting the main portion of the work, a member having an upwardly extending surface for engaging the binding, there being at the junction of the two surfaces a groove so located that a portion of the binding engaging member overhangs it, means for holding in the groove the ridge formed by bending the free portion, of the binding over the attached portion thereof, and means. for feedingthe work and for pressing the binding.

. 2. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists ofia piece of sheet material "to which a strip of binding is size and shape to receive the ri ge formed attached having, in combination, a work support, a plow extending over the work support, there being formed at the junction of the Work support and plow a roove of a by bending the free portion of the binding over the attached portion thereof, a press er for holdin the ridge in the groove, and means for fee ing the work and for pressing the binding.

1 3. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists of a piece of sheetmaterial to which a strip of binding is attached having in combination, astationtable for supporting the work, a plowad apted to engage a portion of the binding and impart to it an upward bend, there being a groove at the junction of the table with the plow, which extends under a por tion of the plow, said groove being shaped and located to receive the ridge formed by bending the free portion of the bindingv over the attached portion thereof, a springpressed presser foot constructed and arranged to exert a downward pressure in a direction oblique to the vertical upon the ed e of the material to hold the ridge in t e groove, and means for feeding the work and for pressing the binding.

J 4. A machine for operating uponaa piece of work which consists of a piece of sheet material to which ,a strip of binding is attached, having in combination, a table having a work supporting face, a plow the o erative face of which is at an angle to t at of the work support, there being. a groove in the corner formed by the two faces, the plow being formed with-a guide way, a presser foot'extending through the guideway and having a portion located to engage the margin of the sheet material near the edge thereof, and means for feeding the work and for pressing a portion of the binding sheet material.

5. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists of a piece of sheet over upon the margin of the material to which a strip of binding is attached having, in combination, a work support and a plow the adjoining surfaces of which are connected by a groove having a rounded base and of such shape that one of its walls is a-continuation of the operasupport, a combined plow and edgegage :rising therefrom and adapted both to guide the work and to impart an upward bend to the binding, a presser foot having a narrow end directed diagonally toward the junction of the work support and the plow and adapted to press the sheet material toward the support, and means for feeding the work and for pressing the upwardly bent margin of the binding over upon the margin of the sheet material. I

7. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists of a piece of sheet material to which a strip of binding is attached, having in combination, a work' Support, a combined plow and edge gage rising therefrom and adapted both to guide ,the work and to impart an upward bend to the binding, a presser foot having a narrow end directed diagonally toward the junction of the work support and the plow and adapted to press the sheet material toward the support, yielding means for holding the presser "foot in contact with the work, and means for feeding the work, and for pressing the upwardly bent binding over upon the margin 0 the sheet material.

8. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which consists of a piece of sheet material to which a strip of binding is at-' tached having, in combination, a work supporting member and a fold forming member rigid with each other, there-being at the 'unction of their operative surfaces a groove aving a rounded base one wall of said oove being a continuation of an operative ace of one of the members, a presser foot having a' narrow and directed diagonally toward the groove and adapted to hold in it the ridge formed by bending vthe free portion of the binding over the attached portion thereof, and means for feeding the work and for pressing the fold.

9. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises apiece' of sheet material to which a strip of binding is attached having, in'combination, a member for supporting the work in a substantially horizontal position, a plow having an upwardly extending operative face, there being at the junction of the plow and member a groove adapted: to receive the ridge formed by bending the free portion of the binding over 7 the attached portion thereof, a presser having a narrow operative end, a pivot upon which the presser is mounted, the shape of the presser and the location of the pivot being such that when swung downwardly about its pivot the presser exerts upon the edge of the material a force oblique with respect to the vertical to hold the ridge in the groove, and a spring for causing the presser to act continuously upon the work.

10. A machine for folding a piece of work having a ridge near one edge thereof having, in combination, a stationary member having 21' substantially flat surface for supporting the Work, a p o h n n pve d y tendingsurface for engaging and bending upwardly the margin of the work, there being substantially at the junction of the two surfaces a groove so located that aportion of thev plow overhangs it, means for holding the ridge in the groove, and means for feeding the work and for bending over d pressing the arsi th r of- 11. A machine for progressively feeding n eldi 'ae P e f orki in a ridge near oneedge thereof having, in combination, pperti rib W k, a p ow tending upwardly from the support in position to engage the margin of the work, there being a groove located substantially at the junction of the work support and the plow to receive the ridge, a spring-pressed presserfoot constructed and arranged to exert a downward pressure uponthe work in the locality of the groove to hold the ridge in the groove, and means for feeding the work and for pressing downwardly the margin thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

SHERMAN WILLIS. 

